How Apple is making its products greener than ever

An Apple smartphone lies face-up in the middle of lush green grass. The screen, speckled with droplets of water, reflects the surrounding grass blades. The scene suggests it was recently raining or the phone was spilled on, embodying Apple's vision for greener products in harmony with nature.

Alongside its commitment to green energy, Apple has increasingly been extending its efforts into its own hands – creating greener products for consumers. Today, we take a closer look at what that means… 

Apple’s new Macs

Apple’s new Macs are made from 100% recycled aluminum to give material from iPhones and iPads a second life.

Whilst standard recycled aluminum accumulates impurities each time it’s recycled, Apple painstakingly designed a new alloy that can be recycled over and over again without losing important qualities, effectively meaning that iPhones, iPads, and Macs can be recycled continuously with components being reused time and time again for new devices.

Greener iPhones

In its most recent devices such as the iPhone 11 Pro, Apple uses 100% recycled tin for the solder in the logic board, more than 40 components used in the devices are made from recycled plastic, and 100% of Apple packaging, whether an AirPods box or a MacBook box, is made from 100% recycled wood or wood from responsibly managed forests, helping to prevent deforestation.

What’s more, Apple continues to advance its forest protection efforts,  and most recently, CEO Tim Cook promised that the company would donate money to “help preserve and restore” the Amazon forest across Latin America.

Energy consumption

Energy consumption is another big concern amongst environmentalists.

Energy used in our digital consumption now has a bigger impact on global warming than the aviation industry,  but Apple products are 70% more energy efficient now than they were in 2008, and new innovations such as Dark Mode on iOS help to preserve battery life on OLED displays, as dark pixels can be turned off selectively on devices rather than lit up unnecessarily

Build quality is also another consideration, and Apple is now designing products that can withstand years of use, like water resistance and strengthened glass to prevent cracks on the iPhone.

Repair and recycle

When the worst does happen, there are now more than 5,00 Apple-certified repair locations around the world, and Apple Trade-In allows users to exchange their old devices for credit, with those devices reused by new owners or recycled for parts for future Apple technology.

That’s without mentioning software, with iOS 13 supporting devices back to the iPhone 6S and SE, extending the life of older products and introducing advanced new functionality and security like Sign in with Apple that makes iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks a long-term investment, rather than disposable. 

Green servers

In addition, all of Apple’s services, from iCloud storage and Apple Music to FaceTime and Apple TV+, are powered by renewable servers and encourage consumers to consume less physical content, like DVDs and game consoles which contribute to more unnecessary plastic waste.

Apple’s ecosystem is only getting more powerful, too, meaning more of the things we use and need every day can be stored on our smartphones.

The Measure app means we don’t need a tape measure, the Photos app means we don’t need to print out our pictures, and the Notes app means no more Post Its.

In the future, Apple users in the United Kingdom could even store their identity information and passports on their iPhones, unlocking more possibilities.

Stay tuned for more from AppleMagazine, every week.

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News content on AppleMagazine.com is produced by our editorial team and complements more in-depth editorials which you’ll find as part of our weekly publication. AppleMagazine.com provides a comprehensive daily reading experience, offering a wide view of the consumer technology landscape to ensure you're always in the know. Check back every weekday for more.

Editorial Team | Masthead – AppleMagazine Digital Publication